The sequel to Marvel’s Black Panther is already one of the most highly anticipated moments of the years. Adding Rihanna to the soundtrack, marking her first her grandeur return to music, made the anticipation for the film even greater.
Fans raved over the Bajan beauty’s new single “Lift Me Up,” co-written by herself, as well as Tems, Oscar winner Ludwig Göransson and the film’s director Ryan Coogler. During a recent interview with CBS’ Gayle King, the famed director opened up about the reaching out to Rih personally to get her to feature on the soundtrack.
“She has a lot of great people around. Jay Brown especially. It was really talking to the folks around her, cause she was in a position where her life was changing, she was becoming a mom,” he shared. “I think the trailer is what spoke to her the most. She kind of saw the performance that the actors were putting down, what the tone . Heard that beautiful music from Tems mixed with Kendrick. It timed up with her coming in to a space where she was ready to engage with the world musically again.”
Tems also spoke about working with the Bad Gal as they co-wrote the teary ballad, “After speaking with Ryan [Coogler] and hearing his direction for the film and the song, I wanted to write something that portrays a warm embrace from all the people that I’ve lost in my life,” Tems shared. “I tried to imagine what it would feel like if I could sing to them now and express how much I miss them. Rihanna has been an inspiration to me so hearing her convey this song is a great honor.”
“Lift Me Up” is also said to act as a tribute to the late, great Black Panther himself, Chadwick Boseman. During a recent press event, Coogler shared, ““The truth is, once she played us the record, she said straight up, ‘I did this for Chad.’ It was him, man. And sitting here thinking about it, it’s hitting me right now… Chad brought us all together, you know what I mean? He just keeps on and keeps on giving. I’m just really thankful that Rihanna was the latest gift to join the family, and I can’t wait for folks to see how it’s used in the film.”
Check out the visual for “Lift Me Up” below.